


Our Names are Woven in the Cords of Fate

by PetiteNiku



Category: Free!
Genre: Body Swap AU, Kimi no Na wa AU, M/M, Slow Build, Soul Mate AU, Time Travel, Your Name AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8215546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetiteNiku/pseuds/PetiteNiku
Summary: A boy from a small fishing town meets a boy from a bustling city through dreams, exploring each other’s reality and manipulating their alternative lives (and bodies). They are drawn together by a rare cosmic event, in which their consciousness swaps with each other and start having out of the body experiences. They are determined, confused, and desperate to carry on each others daily routine and fight against fate. Neither can recall the other boy’s name, no matter how many notes they've left behind.-aka The Soulmate and Body Swap AU where Makoto and Haru have never met each other in person, live in different timelines and switched bodies.





	1. Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> This story follows similarly to the original movie Kimi no Na wa (Your Name) plot line. Now in no way do you need to watch the movie to understand this story. But I do highly recommend watching it anyways for the beautiful animation, characters, plot, and music.
> 
> If you have seen the movie, then you know more or less the direction this story is going.
> 
> Please correct me if I am misusing Japanese terms in the story. I am in no way trying to butcher the language, I am merely still learning on a daily basis.

\- 7:25am  |  Wednesday, 1st week of February -

_Makoto?_

_Hey, Makoto?_

The sounds of the train doors opening bring Makoto’s attention and a small glimpse of deep blue eyes.

In the fragment of a second, Makoto can see so much emotion in his eyes.

_“Makoto!”_

The high schooler, which Makoto can only deduct the strange boy is a student from the uniform, has a look of annoyance and frustration. His face scrunches up as the train’s passengers push him out on the platform.

 _“Makoto!”_ The boy shouts again in a desperate tone. He tries to stand tall so not to lose sight of the brunette, _“Don’t you remember me?!”_

But those eyes. He could never imagine forgetting a pair of eyes holding so much life. They hold a familiar warmth, but he can’t recall seeing this boy before.

 _“My name…”!_ The boy, frantic now, resorts to yelling and jumping to see over the crowd. He is being pushed farther away from Makoto, a few steps to the platform. Makoto's body betrays him to move forward and push to escape. He is still at the point of his pre-teen life where his body is changing and his build is growing out the awkward lanky frame.

Their hands lift with the intent to reach and grab the other somehow. But the crowd keeps on, and Makoto felt for a split second something warm holding his hand.  _“My name is Ha—!”_ his voice cuts off by the train doors, and Makoto no longer seeing those eyes as the train moves away from the platform.

There is an empty pit in his stomach now, creating waves of guilt and sadness. His hand hovers over his stomach, and realizes at that second a _kumihimo_ bracelet woven in beautiful cobalt blue threads in his hand.

Incorporated in the bracelet, is a tiny silver charm of a dolphin.

 

 

* * *

 

  

Makoto wakes up, drenched in sweat. He could feel his chest heaving rapidly with heavy panting and practically able to hear the beating of his heart.

His hands move to his face with the intention of rubbing away the sleep of his eyes. But instead, the streaks of new shed tears greet his fingers. Quickly Makoto wipes them away with the the back of his hands.

The tone of his breathing was returning back to normal, when the brunette finally realized that he was laying on the ground.

 _‘Must've fallen off the bed during the night.’_ He sits up with a grunt and hears the floor boards underneath him squeak.

Makoto rubs his sore back from the fall. _‘Hold on…’_

When did he become so lean?

The brunette forced his eyes open and the following minutes meshed into a few seconds for Makoto.

He didn’t realize that he woke up in somebody else's bedroom. He focused on the bare wall in front of him, then glaze over to a quick scan of the room.

Brown walls.

An old fashion Japanese sliding door.

On his right, a simple black dresser with very minimal objects displayed.

Behind him, a bookshelf with a vase filled with water and colorful rocks.

Right next to it, a neatly organized wooden desk with a calendar of the ocean tacked in the center.

He notices the poster of two dolphins with the word ‘Splash!’ on the bottom.

The bed he was supposedly sleeping on was not his either. Not once has he owned a blue and white cover or have so much room under his bed frame to stow away boxes.

Makoto straighten his back and pushed himself up to pull back the blue curtains.

“Wow…!” He gasped.

The window framed a portion of a traditional Japanese house, a large sakura tree with its leaves still in tact, and a peek of the ocean on the horizon. 

 _'It looks like spring and it isn't even March!'_ Makoto looks out the window and takes a couple deep breaths of the spring air. He finally takes the courage to look down on himself.

His usual orange night shirt is replaced with a plain white one. His chest is flatter. His skin is much more pale and his fingers are much more slender. He glances at his legs, also pale and leaner. He grazes the skin and is surprised by how smooth it is.

“What is going on…?” He sighs and scratches the back of his neck. Through his fingers, he feels silky strays and gives a light tug on his fringe. The usual tuft of olive green and brown hair was now replaced by black hair. The lighting of the room showed a slight tint of blue.

Makoto brings himself up on his feet, taking note how much shorter he is. He rubs his eyes and pinches a cheek, trying to wake himself up from this dream. Without thinking about it, his feet brings him to the bathroom across the bedroom. Makoto washes his face, dries it with the nearest towel and finally takes a look at the mirror.

_'Blue eyes.'_

“Eh?” Makoto blinks and leans closer to the mirror.

Those aren't his eyes, or face!

“What..?!”

Makoto peeks down night shirt.

 _'This isn’t my body!'_ He dares to pull away the waistband of the shorts and peeks. Heat engulfs his face and immediately looks away, ashamed of himself.

“This is some dream…” he mutters and concludes his mind is playing tricks. “I must be so stress with nationals that I’m dreaming to be someone else…”

_'Someone shorter, with beautiful piercing blue eyes and milk soft skin and-'_

"Gah!" Makoto ends his thoughts there before he goes too far. But doesn’t stop himself from staring at Haruka’s reflection.

“But this…?” Makoto mumbles to himself, "This is what _he_ looked like…"

“Are you up yet young man?”

The sound of a door opening forces Makoto to look at its direction. He could feel the growing heat on his face. He must look ridiculous, all flustered up from being caught in the act of rubbing his body. And in the bathroom no less!

An elderly woman with the same features of the boy in the dream; Makoto figured to be the boy’s grandmother, stood at the doorway. Immediately he laid his hands off of himself, or rather _his_ body.

 _'This is going to be so confusing'_ , Makoto internally groaned.

“G-Good morning…” Makoto was taken back by the sound of his voice, “Obaa-san.”

The grandmother looked at him with an amused smile a split second after Makoto realized his mistake. *

“I was surprised I didn’t find you soaking in the bath tub.” She noticed the disarray of blankets on the floor. “Did you have a bad dream Haruka?”

Makoto raises his eyebrows and points to himself. “Haru..ka?”

“I see you’re still half asleep,” Haruka’s grandmother chuckles, "Hurry up now, breakfast is already on the table.” She quietly closes the door and her footsteps can still be heard down the hall.

 “This is just a dream, right Haruka?” The reflection smiles at Makoto, sending butterflies in his gut. “Haruka. Haru? Haru-chan?” Another smile from the mirror’s reflection agrees with the nickname. The smile falters a bit when Makoto remembers the dilemma he’s in. Dream or not, he needs to act like this “Haruka”, and the sooner he does the sooner the dream will end.

 

\- 7:00am  |  Thursday, 1st week of February -

 

The smell of cooked mackerel and the sound of dishes being placed on the table welcomes the high schooler.

“Good morning, _sobo_.” Haru greets before entering the room.

“Good morning dear.” His grandmother smiles, “Out of the tub I see,” Haru’s grandmother teases as she settles at her place of the dining table.

“Sorry…” Haru mumbles an apology and a look of a guilty child, “I’ll make breakfast tomorrow.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” the elderly woman motions her grandson to join her.

He seats himself next to her and tugs the uniform collar out of habit. A blue braided bracelet is shown peeking out of his navy blue sleeve and the slightest glint of the dolphin charm.

“You’re acting like your old self again.” she comments as he serves them each a bowl of rice.

“Hm?” He arches a brow slightly.

“Yesterday you were…acting a little odd.”

“Odd?” He frowns a bit and starts digging in his food, “I suppose…?”

 _'If she’s talking about the small outburst yesterday…'_ Haru doesn’t ask for clarification, instead apologizes again and continues to eat his breakfast.

They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Haru’s guilt builds up in the back of his mind and practically forces to break the peace.

“About yesterday, I -”

A loud chime interrupts Haru and an announcement from the living room’s radio:

 

_Good morning everyone._

_This is an announcement from Iwatobi Town Hall._

_Regarding the mayoral election to be held on the 20th next month, the election committee…_

 

Haru glares at the radio and shuts it off. He turns the tv on instead, and ignores the disapproving look from his grandmother.

“Have you spoken to him since then?”

Haru is quiet and shakes his head, eyes focused on the tiny bits of mackerel and rice left of his bowl.

His grandmother reaches her hands to his own. Haru pauses from eating and the gentle touch forces him to look up. Even with age, her eyes are as vibrant and blue as his. “Give him time. He’ll come around.”

“Mhm…” His grandmother gives a squeeze before retreating back to her side of the table. Haru’s eyes goes back to his empty plate.

 _'He’s not coming back.'_ Haru picks up his dishes and heads to the kitchen. The frail woman takes the hint and turns her attention to the tv.

“I’ll be going now.”

With a nod of understanding from his grandmother, Haru double checks his bag and closes the genkan behind him.

“It’s still too early…” Haru shifts his school bag and proceeds down the shrine steps. His family has always been associated with the town’s shrine and currently his father is - or rather was - a kannushi. This bearing in mind, Haru is the only able Nanase to work at the shrine and tend to the grounds.

Halfway down the steps, a tuft of white fur pokes out on the side and approaches the boy.

“…Good morning?” He kneels down and scratches under the kitten’s chin, “Have you come to pay your respects?”

The kitten rubs against his palm and responds with tickling licks.

“Or maybe you wanted some of my breakfast?” Haru receives a soft purr, a ‘yes’ in his book. He gives another scratch before bidding the white fur ball goodbye.

“Haru-chan!”

Haru turns around and sees Rei and Nagisa waving at the base of the steps. He walks down the rest of the stairs and quietly greets them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now correct me if I’m wrong with the Japanese terms.
> 
> 1: Kumihimo is the Japanese form of braid-making with cords and ribbons. They’re use to make ties on hoary jackets and obijime. Fun fact: They served both a function and decorative purpose for samurai, it was a way to lace their own armor and horses’ armor.
> 
> 2: From what I learned, you would usually call your own grandmother “sobo” and call somebody else’s grandmother “Obaa-san”. It’s also more formal to say the former. Makoto was still in shock and barely awake to find himself in Haru’s body to say the proper term for “his own” grandmother. 
> 
> 3: Cherry blossom season starts earlier in the south of Japan where flowers open in mid/late January peaking early February. In Tokyo the season is from late March to early April, and yet further North (Sapporo) the season starts in the first week of May.
> 
> 4: Kannushi - (from wikipedia) is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami. 
> 
> The main protagonist of the movie was mentioned to be a shrine maiden of her family shrine, but I didn’t like labeling Haru an employee of god, since he has no training on it. For the sake of keeping it simple (and most likely not realistically accurate), Haru is just born in a very traditional family and his father use to be a priest. (I'll explain why that is in a much later chapter)


	2. Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru finds himself not remembering the previous day and it's concerning to say the least. Here comes another blast from the past.
> 
> The stars split apart that night. Threads are woven.

\- 7:30am  |  Thursday, 1st week of February -

“Good morning Haruka-senpai!”

“Haru-chaaaaaan!”

Haru waves to Rei and Nagisa in acknowledgement, and proceeds to take his time going down the shrine steps. His friends wait at the bottom, having a conversation of their own while patiently standing by the entrance.

“Nagisa. Rei.” He nods to his friends and join their walk to school.

“Ne, Haru-chan?” The boy in question glances at his side and notices the blond boy grinning at him. “Are you going to the festival next month with us? Rei-chan said there’s gonna be a uh, what what is it you called it Rei-chan?”

“A rare cosmic event that only happens every thousands of years!” Rei pushes the bridge of his glasses, “I’ve done my fair share of research. Base on my calculations, the comet has an orbital period of 1,200 years and will surely pass by at the same night of the festival!” Haru and Nagisa temporary slow down their steps and watches in amusement how rile up their friend is being.

“It’s going to be the most beautiful celestial show of the century!” Rei exclaims with a shine in his eyes, “It is at the upmost importance we prepare for such an event!”

“Yeah,” Nagisa points to the violet haired boy, “That’s what he called it. Do you want to go with us Haru-chan?”

Haru shrugs his shoulders and takes the initiative to lead the group back to school. His friends are quick to follow beside him. “I’d rather go swim at the ocean that night.”

Nagisa grins, “That's our ol' Haru-chan! Glad you're back to your old self!”

Haru falters a bit in his step, “What?”

“Did Obaa-chan exorcise you last night?”

“Wha-”

“Nagisa!” Rei screeches and adjusts his glasses for the nth time, “What he means is-”

“You were seriously possessed by something from the shrine!” Nagisa takes a hold on Haru’s arm, emphasize the vigor on that grip, “Right?!”

“Stop with this paranormal nonsense!” Rei shouts and tries with all his might to free Haru from Nagisa’s hold, “Haru-senpai is just under a lot of stress, it’s no wonder he was acting weird yesterday!” Rei turns to face Haru, “Right?”

In all the commotion of the two bickering and hanging on him for dear life, Haru was only able to catch just a few words but still couldn’t make any sense of it. Haru stares blankly at them, silently asking his friends to make him understand.

Rei and Nagisa stares at Haru, both in a state of astonishment.

“You don’t remember?” Nagisa tilts his head, “None of it?”

Haru shrugs. Rei and Nagisa look at each other one more time before Rei waves it off, “It doesn’t matter now. It’s illogical to dwell on something so small.”

“Hm.” Not in complete agreement to wave the situation off, Haru shrugs again and continues with their walk. If whatever he did yesterday made a big impact to make his friends and his grandmother worry his well being, he had the right to know. Then again, he was not in the right state of mind to begin with. Last night, or Haru supposes a couple night ago, still lingers in his thoughts.

 _‘It wasn’t my fault I-’_ Haru stopped the train of thought and pushed it in the farthest part in his mind. He's grateful nobody has brought it up. It was probably best no one mentions it.

His mind turns elsewhere when the sound of clapping takes the attention of the group. Making their way through the town square, Haru could see a small crowd of locals.

“What do you think is going on over there?” Rei refers to the lot of their neighbors.

“One way to find out!” Nagisa sprints to the gathering, ignoring Rei’s shouts to wait.

Rei sighs and reluctantly follows after Nagisa’s hasty departure. “What are we going to do with him?”

“It is on the way…”

As they venture closer, the boys can clearly hear a chorus of muttering and grunts in the circle of Iwatobi’s citizens. Not too far from the crowd is a man with a megaphone standing on a platform and a line of suited men behind him.

“Only when these are achieved, can a safe and secure community be created! As the incumbent mayor…”

 _‘Well this makes sense.’_ Haru quickly averts his eyes from the bureaucrat.

“He’ll only be reelected anyways.” Haru hears someone comment.

“It’s not like we have any other choice,” another retorts.

A tug from his sleeve forces Haru to face a very concerned Rei. “Let’s get going, I don’t want to get scolded by Amakata-sensei again.” A complete lie. They’ve never been late because of Rei’s annoying punctuality. But Haru goes along without hesitation.

“Oi, Ryuugazaki!”

A group of teenagers, the three recognized them from another class, calls out for Rei. Haru and Nagisa slows down their pace. Haru is starting to become very annoyed by how his morning is starting. Something about the smug looks on the other group didn’t feel right to Haru.

“So the rumors are true then Ryuugazaki?”

“Pardon?”

“The mayor’s kid and his contractor’s kid _get along_ too,” sneered one girl.

That irked Haru and immediately sends a glare to their direction.

“What! No, we-”

“Wait till the whole school hears about this!”

“It’s not like-”

"Who's gonna give away their button first?!"

A chorus of laughter snaps Haru.

“Sorry to burst your bubble!” Nagisa jumps in with his tongue out. "It's more like a party of three" and promptly drags his friends away.

“Gross,” the group snickers and that really riles Nagisa up.

“Don’t let them get to you guys,” Nagisa fumes and makes an attempt to comfort his friends.“They don’t know anything.”

“Obviously, since it’s _you_ who’s pining over Rei,” Haru mutters.

Rei didn’t hear the comment, too busy in his own world mumbling about how ridiculous and immature their classmates were. But Nagisa’s tomato red face told Haru that he heard every word, yet chose not to say anything.

“Haruka!”

Haru internally winces, _‘Why can’t I just catch a break today?’_

He looks to his right of the source, and makes eye contact with the mayor.

 _‘Oh no.’_ Haru flinches and stops on his tracks.

“Keep your back straight!” shouted Haru’s father, “You’re slouching like a slob! That’s no way for a Nanase to present himself in public! I taught you better than that!”

Haru breaks eye contact from his father, picks up speed and getting far ahead from the group. He ignores the giggles, whispers, and judgmental looks from the towns folk.

‘Let me go back to that dream, please!’ Haru wishes as he sprints off, completely ignoring the shouts from his worried friends.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The kanji for “Tasokare” is circled in purple chalk on the board. Beside it is the word “twilight” in white chalk.

Haru takes note on the lesson. Just barely. He copies the board in lazy handwriting.

“Tasokare, means ‘who is that’ is also the origin of the word “tasogare-doki”.

At this point, Haru zones out the teacher and decides to doodle on the margins of his page. He feels a nudge behind him and glances at his neighbor. Rei gives him a small frown and points to the chalkboard. A look of “Please pay attention Haru-senpai!”

Haru rolls his eyes and goes back to his notebook. No matter how many times he’s told Rei that he prefers to be called “just Haru”, the other just wouldn’t comply. Something about Haru being older than him and so much more talented than the rest of his classmates. Whatever that means. It’s clearly obvious that Rei is the talented one, seeing as he skipped a grade and is presently sitting in a far more advance class.

It’s not like Haru is terrible at his studies. He’s been able to score above average and pass finals just fine. But his father thinks otherwise and has always praised Rei for being so studious. He is forever grateful that Rei isn’t one to boast about his grades or class rank.

 _“That Rei is going to go far, why don’t you be more like Ryugazaki’s boy?”_ his father always said whenever Rei came to help Haru study, _“You can learn so much from him! You need to make the effort to go to cram school! Think about your future Haruka.”_

Leave the shrine. Go to university. Take on politics. Fill in his father’s shoes.

Haru couldn’t care less. If he had it his way, he’d rather choose life by the ocean. Iwatobi was a tiny fishing town, Haru could live off by trade if he wanted to. No need to worry about reputation or tradition. Just focus on the water and trust it. But the ocean was here, in Iwatobi, and it was home. No matter how much he wanted to be free off it, he couldn’t bear leaving for a city life. His father on the other hand, thought differently. Ever since dumping his duties of the shrine to Haru, he’s turned his attention at politics and has been nagging his only son to do the same.

Haru sighs inwardly and tries to return his focus on the class. He goes back to his notebook flipping to a new page when the teacher describes how the term “karetaso-doki is an older expression of tasogare-doki.”

He doesn’t catch it all; he’s suddenly too distracted by something written on the center of the page.

**Who are you???**

Haru could barely make out the characters scrawled in black pen.

Incredibly puzzled, Haru turns around to his neighbor again but is only faced with a busy Rei scribbling away on his own notebook.

 _‘Why would anybody write in my notebook?’_ Haru thinks to himself and quickly flips the remaining pages of his notebook.

Blank. Empty. No weird cryptic scribblings on any of them.

Everyone is Iwatobi knew him. It was pretty hard not to, given his status. He wanted to deduct it as a prank by Nagisa, but his handwriting couldn’t come close to this. It wasn't written in pink marker or flourished with crude stars. The message was written like whoever wrote it was in a rush. His eyes quickly swept over his classmates.

“Twilight, when it’s neither day nor night. When the world blurs and one might encounter something not human.”

 _‘Whoever did this wanted my attention, a reaction, something…’_ Haru returned his gaze to his notebook and frowned, _‘Probably that group earlier…’_

“Nanase!” Miho calls Haru out of his thoughts. Haru quickly stands with his notebook still in his hands, “Yes?”

“Good! Looks like you haven’t forgotten your name today.” She teases and waves around a piece of chalk to his direction.

There is laughter comes from his classmates. More confused than embarrassed, Haru slowly sits back down. He glares at the cryptic writing in his notebook until finally ripping off the page.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Oh! Look Haru-chan, it’s Shiro!” Nagisa kneels down and tries to coo the snow white feline closer to them. The kitten comes closer and upon from recognizing Haru, she struts to him and rubs against his leg. “You were super friendly with her this morning too! I didn’t know you liked cats.”

“I dont…?” Haru sighs and gently caresses her head, “But I don't dislike them either.”

“You were the one that named her last night~!” Nagisa said almost whining. “You honestly can’t remember anything from yesterday?”

Haru almost rolls his eyes and gives the cat one last scratch under her chin before walking again. “No. Should I be worried?”

“Pfft-“ Nagisa tries to muffle out a giggle but failed.

Rei gives Nagisa a disapproving look before fixing his glasses, “It wasn’t too bad.” Haru’s stoic stare doesn't falter.

“Are you kidding me Rei-chan? Haru got lost coming to school!” Nagisa is at this point tearing up from laughter, “You still had a serious case of bed hair, I wish I could’ve taken a picture of it!”

“You did walk in the wrong classroom.” Rei added on, ignoring the blond having a giggling fit, “And smiled more times than I could count.”

“You were so cute!” Nagisa kept going, “I didn’t know Haru-chan was capable of having dimples!”

Haru pointed to himself with arched brows as if to say _Who, me?_

“Well…” The blue-eyed boy managed to speak, “I have been dreaming strange things lately…”

 _‘A dream about a green eye boy and a city bigger than I could imagine.’_ Haru thinks to himself.

“Could it be due to stress from school?” Rei quips.

“No way would that be an issue!” Nagisa waves off his hands in a shooing motion, “It has to be the ritual practice tonight, right?”

“Tonight?!” Haru whips out his phone and stares at the screen with a distasteful frown, “Shit.”

“Didn’t you put it on your calendar?”

“Ugh” Haru groaned, “I must have … forgotten.” _‘I don’t even like using this stupid phone.’_ Haru thought bitterly.

“You’ve been forgetting a lot of things lately. Are you feeling okay Haruka-senpai?”

“I’ll be okay.” Haru paused for a moment. He can clearly see the uneasy faces on his friends. “I’ll make sure to get some sleep after the ritual.” That seem to ease their worries.

“Why don’t we go to a cafe?”

“Eh?! A cafe?” Nagisa’s eyes widen and grins from ear to ear, “A cafe?!”

Haru steps out of the way in time as his blond friend takes the opportunity to tackle Rei in a hug. Haru crosses his arms and arches an eyebrow in suspicion. “A cafe? _Here?_ In Iwatobi?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

A can of cold coffee falls down the takeout port and hits against the dispenser door.

“ _This_ is your idea of a cafe?”

“It’s the only thing selling anything at this hour.”

Nagisa huffs and gives a little kick to the vending machine, “Barely selling.” He goes for another kick and whoops in victory when two canned beverages fall.

“Ne, Rei-chan” Nagisa chimes after taking a long sip. “Do you think Haru-chan will be okay?”

Rei settles himself on a nearby bench and allows room for his friend to plop next to him. “He had to go perform the ritual tonight, it is his responsibility as a Nanase to do an honorary task–”

“I meant with the…you know. The mini bonfire he made in his backyard?”

“You mean, in regards to-”

“I just don’t think Haru meant what he said!” Nagisa is quick to interrupt with a slight quiver in his voice. Rei glances over, not missing out how Nagisa’s fingers lightly taps against the metal can. He tries to distract himself with the drink in his hand, “It’s not like him to blow a fuse over something so petty.”

Rei glances over to his best friend. Tears are threatening to fall from Nagisa’s eyes. He hums and gently ruffle’s Nagisa’s hair. “He’ll come to us when he’s ready to talk.”

“Yeah. I know.” Nagisa sighs and takes a long sip, “I’m just so afraid of him breaking apart again.”

“That was so long ago Nagisa-kun.” Rei’s hands never leave the mop of blond curls, “Haru-senpai is so much stronger now”

“…I guess.” Nagisa leans in Rei’s touch, “Why are you always right Rei-chan?”

Rei’s face heats up and unconsciously runs his fingers through Nagisa’s head. “Not always.”

There is no comment from his companion. Slowly, Rei retracts his hand back to his side and the two become quiet sitting through a heavy atmosphere.

“Rei-chan, it wasn’t your fault she–”

“Nagisa-kun.” Reid’s voice suddenly cracks and pleads, “Please.” His hands are visibly shaking and gripping the can so hard he’s leaving dents. “It’s been ten years. Put the past behind us.”

The music from the summer’s cicadas can’t break the tensity in the air. Nagisa whispers an apology and is grateful for a quick “It’ll be okay,” from Rei.

“…Let’s head back home. It’s getting late.” Rei throws out his can and patiently waits for his friend on the road.

“…Okay.”

They shuffle their way through the dirt road, thinking to themselves the same thing.

How could so much happen in the span of a few days?

 

 

* * *

 

 

In his silent walk back home, Haru takes his time and dreadfully tries to add the minutes, procrastinating as much from going to the temple.

He walks along the dirt path, there is a crickets’ song and a party of dancing fireflies. There is nothing but open space and a twinkling sky.

As much as Haru wants to agree with Nagisa how boring the town is, Iwatobi is still a serine and beautiful town. Sometimes on bad days, he would wish a little change in his day to day routine.

Wake up in the morning. Soak in the tub for an hour. Make breakfast for him and his grandmother. Make an attempt to participate in school. Hang out with Nagisa and Rei at the very few “hang out” spots Iwatobi has to offer (the ocean, a vending machine as old as Haru’s grandmother, or the train tracks). Work at the temple. Sit beside his grandmother and weave the never ending braid cords. Switch his brain to study mode and hover over his homework. By the time the clock strikes midnight, Haru settles in bed until the next day.

Rinse and repeat. It made his days all the more monotonous.

Being a tiny fishing town has it’s drawbacks. Everyone knew everything about everyone. Word travels fast, and there is no such thing as a secret. Iwatobi Academy is the _only_ institution in the entire area that forces you to be classmates with the same people for more than a decade.

An image of Nagisa and Rei pops up in his head and that alone makes Haru conjure the smallest smile.

His thoughts are interrupted with a soft tune from his phone. A ringtone that Nagisa personally wanted to set up for his number.

_‘Speak of the devil.’_

“Haru-chan! Rei-chan had this brilliant plan to go to the ocean tomorrow! What do you say–”

“After school.” Haru was quick with his response.

“Pizza for dinner?”

“Shouldn’t we buy something more healthier?” Rei interrupted from the other side of the line.

“I’ll bring the mackerel.”

“We can’t always have mackerel as a pizza topping Haru-senpai!”

“More for me then.”

His friends let out a groan and complies with Haru’s obsession with the fish.

“Haru-chan?” Nagisa’s voice is softer, a tone when he’s being serious. Haru listens intently. “You might be stuck center stage. But we’ll always be in the front row cheering you on.”

There’s a tug on his heart.

“We’ll see you later Haru-chan!”

The call ends and Haru comes back again with cicadas singing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Listen to the thread’s voice. When you keep twining like that, emotions will eventually start flowing between you and the thread.”

Haru knows very well that threads don’t talk. But for the sake of argument, he goes along with his grandmother and leaves it as a cryptic message for him to concentrate the task at hand.

“Over a thousand years of Iwatobi’s history is etched into our braided cords.”

 _‘Here we go.’_ Haru sighs quietly and smiles fondly at his grandmother. He gets ready for another one of her history lessons.

“Two hundred years ago, a sandal maker’s bathroom caught on fire and burned down this whole area. The shrine and the documents were destroyed. So the meaning of our festivals became unknown and only the form lived on. But even if the words are lost, traditions should be handed down. That’s the important task we as Nanases have.”

Haru nods and continues to weave in his silence. He's been taught since he could remember. His grandmother use to have the others to assist her, years and years ago. Volunteers would come to learn the art and help sell during the festival.

Now it is just her and Haru.

“But that foolish son of mine…” Haru looks up at his grandmother gripping the threads a little too tightly. “As if leaving Shinto priesthood and his house weren’t enough, now politics? Hopeless. I can smell the corruption off that cheap cologne he bathes in.”

Haru does a terrible job hiding a smirk.

The shrine’s bell chimes at that moment. “Ah, it’s time Haruka!” his grandmother claps her hands, “Let’s get you ready for tonight!”

Haru rolls his eyes and frowns.

“Oh come now, stop with the faces and hop on to it.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Well. That ritual was a fail.

“You did great Haruka-senpai!” Rei somehow says after the ritual was done and over with.

Haruka shakes his head in response, thinking back to the audience. There were a lot more people than usual. He heard classmates mocking him through the whole session. Usually Haru could care less of what people thought of him. But for the past couple of days, it’s been unnerving and difficult to ignore.

He missed a couple steps in the dance but his sense of duty kept him going to finish. Rei and Nagisa did not lie earlier, they were standing near the front of the stage and whispered their encouragement. But it was the moment he presented the oldest sake in the shrine. By chewing on rice, spitting it out, and letting it ferment, it becomes alcohol. Hearing it makes sense. Seeing it is a different matter, and the lot of immature high schoolers in the crowd always make a big deal. 

“ _Kuchikamisake._ Do the gods appreciate sake made that way?” Rei ponders out loud, directed to no one in particular.

“Of course they do!” Nagisa furiously nods his head. 

Haru listens the two bicker for a while as they descend down the stairs.

_‘It’s always been that way.’_

“Why not sell lots of kuchikamisake and use the money to buy all the mackerel you want?” Nagisa suddenly shakes Haru’s arm, “Name it _Nanase Sake_!”

“I’ve thought about it, but Grandmother would skin me alive if she found out.”

“Of course she would!” Rei throws his hands up in the air, “That breaks the Liquor Tax Law!”

“ _That’s_ the problem Rei-chan?" Nagisa feints a dramatic pose, "Not the old village woman making a haunting spirit out of your childhood friend?”

“If the gods are merciful enough, Haruka-senpai would come back as a fish if he continues eating the way he does.”

“As long as it’s mackerel.”

Nagisa frowns and sprints down the stairs of the temple, stopping just under the shrine entrance and takes a deep breath before yelling at the top of his longs.

“Please make Haru-chan a handsome tall Tokyo boy in his next life!”

Blue eyes narrowed to Nagoya's direction and glanced over to Rei. “Did he just insult me?”

“You do land more on the beautiful spectrum, Haruka-senpai.”

Haru scoffs and walks back up the stairs. Nagisa giggles an apology. Haru sends a half-assed wave as the other two shout their goodbyes.

_‘Beautiful?’_

Haru makes his way to his bedroom and settles at his desk. Books and notebooks are spread open, but he has no intent on doing any studying tonight. From the view in his bedroom, the shrine building casts long shadows on the courtyard. The ocean is still on the horizon. The sakura trees sway along with the wind. Stars twinkle one by one. Iwatobi is completely enveloped by night.

_‘This is beautiful.’_


End file.
